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Saturday, September 28, 2013

How to Hack an Ethernet ADSL Router

Hack ADSL RoutersAlmost half of the Internet users across the globe use ADSL routers/modems to connect to the Internet. However, most of them are unaware of the fact that it has a serious vulnerability in it which can easily be exploited by anyone with a basic knowledge of computer. In this post, I will show you how to hack an Ethernet ADSL router by exploiting the common vulnerability that lies in it.
Every router comes with a username and password using which it is possible to gain access to the router settings and configure the device. The vulnerability actually lies in the Default username and password that comes with the factory settings. Usually the routers come preconfigured from the Internet Service provider and hence the users do not bother to change the password later.
This makes it possible for the attackers to gain unauthorized access to the router and modify its settings using a common set of default usernames and passwords. Here is how you can do it. Before you proceed, you need the following tool in the process:

Hacking the ADSL Router:

Here is a detailed information on how to exploit the vulnerability of an ADSL router:
  1. Go to www.whatismyipaddress.com. Once the page is loaded, you will find your IP address. Note it down.
  2. Open Angry IP Scanner, here you will see an option called IP Range: where you need to enter the range of IP address to scan for.
  3. Suppose your IP is 117.192.195.101, you can set the range something as 117.192.194.0 to 117.192.200.255so that there exists at least 200-300 IP addresses in the range.
  4. Go to Tools->Preferences and select the Ports tab. Under Port selection enter 80 (we need to scan for port 80). Now switch to the Display tab, select the option “Hosts with open ports only” and click on OK.
  5. IP Scanner Settings
    I have used Angry IP Scanner v3.0 beta-4. If you are using a different version, you need to Go to Optionsinstead of Tools
  6. Now click on Start. After a few minutes, the IP scanner will show a list of IPs with Port 80 open as shown in the below image:
  7. Angry IP Scanner
  8. Now copy any of the IP from the list, paste it in your browser’s address bar and hit enter. A window will popup asking for username and password. Since most users do not change the passwords, it should most likely work with the default username and password. For most routers the default username-passwordpair will be admin-admin or admin-password.
Just enter the username-password as specified above and hit enter. If you are lucky you should gain access to the router settings page where you can modify any of the router settings. The settings page can vary from router to router. A sample router settings page is shown below:
Router Settings Page Hacked!
If you do not succeed to gain access, select another IP from the list and repeat the step-5. At least 1 out of 5 IPs will have a default password and hence you will surely be able to gain access.

What can a Hacker do by Gaining Access to the Router Settings?

By gaining access to the router settings, it is possible for an attacker to modify any of the router settings which results in the malfunction of the router. As a result the target user’s computer will be disconnected from the Internet. In the worst case the attacker can copy the ISP login details from the router to steal the Internet connection or even hijack the DNS by pointing it at a rouge DNS server. If this happens, the victim will have to reconfigure/reset the router settings in order to bring it back to normal.

The Verdict:

If you are using an ADSL router to connect to the Internet, it is highly recommended that you immediately change your password to prevent any such attacks in the future. Who knows, you may be the next victim of such an attack.
Since the configuration varies from router to router, you need to contact your ISP for details on how to change the password for your model.
Warning!
All the information provided in this post are for educational purposes only. Please do not use this information for illegal purposes.

How to Change the ICON of an EXECUTABLE file

Some times it becomes necessary to change the icon of an executable file so that the file gets a new appearance. Many of the tools such as TuneUP Winstyler does this job by adjusting the Windows to display a custom icon to the user. But, in reality if the file is carried to a different computer, then it shows its original icon itself.
This means that in order to permanently change the icon, it is necessary to modify the executable file and embed the icon inside the file itself. When this is done the executable file’s icon is changed permanently, so that even if you take file to a different computer it show’s a new icon.
For this purpose I have found a nice tool which will modidify the executable file and embed the icon of your choice into the file itself. ie: The tool changes the icon of the executable file permanently.

How to Change the Executable File Icon?

Here is a step-by-step instruction on how to use this tool to change the icon of any EXE file:
  1. Go to www.shelllabs.com and download the trial version of IconChanger and install it (Works on XP, Vista and Win 7).
  2. Run the IconChanger program from Start -> All Programs and you should see an interface as shown below:
    Change EXE File Icon
  3. Now you will see a window stating that “Choose an object whose icon you want to change”. Click on the “OK” button.
  4. Now select the executable file for which you wish to change the icon.
  5. Icon changer will automatically search for all the icons on your “C:\ drive” so that you can select any one of those. If your desired icon is not shown in the window, you may paste the path of your icon file in the field which says “Search icons in” so that your desired icon gets displayed.
  6. Select the ICON of your choice and click on Set button.
  7. Now a popup window will appear and ask you to select from either of these two options.
    • Change embeded icon.
    • Adjust Windows to display custom icon.
  8. Select the first option (Change embedded icon). You are done. The icon gets changed.
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